Method of finishing edges.



L. T. REMICK.

METHOD OF FINISHING EDGES. APPLICATION FILED ocr. H. m4.

W/T/VESSES. F g 4 Patented May15, 1917.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

T. REHICK, 0] IBROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, 01? PATBBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW masn'.

- METHOD OF FINISHING EDGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1917.

Original application fled April 13, 1914, Serial Io. 881,614. Divided and this application filed October 14,

' 1814. Serial No. 866,878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LLOYD T. REMIGK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Finishing Edges, of which the following description,

in connection with the accompanying draw-- apparatus being shown whereby the steps of machine of the above a division, may be employed.

the method may be rformed. By way of exemplification mere y, the method is shown and described as applied to the treatment of shoe u per material such as leather or cloth, but it is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to the treatment of other pliable sheet materials, particularly those of-organic origin.

In the preparation of shoe uppers certain exposededges, as, for example, those of the top of the upper and along'the throat or fly, for example, either or both edges of a button fly, must be finished to present a smooth,- attractive appearance. This is usually done by the edge, applying cement thereto, and fol 'ng over the margin into position to be secured by the cement.

The uppers may then, if desired, be stitched application Serial No. 790,892, filed Septem-' ber 20, 1913, Glass. For performing certain steps of my improved method, an improved type, which is covered by my application Serial No. 831,614 filed April 13, 1914, of which this application is A general object of the present invention is to roduce a finished edge which will not be lia 1e to stretch, and to dprovide an edge for anypurpose where ad tional strength alo the margin of the sheet material to be fini ified is required. It has been found, for

; instance, that for certain classes of shoes, for

exam le, Oxfords havin uppers ofrather 'firm eather, the usual abric lining of the upper may be dispensed with, provided the free margin of the upper at or adjacent to the portion which is subjected to the fo1dmg operation, above described, is suitably reinforced to prevent stretching. Any suitable form of reinforcing means may be used, as, for instance, a cotton or linen cord or tape which may, if preferred, be inserted ii. position to be covered by the folded over margin of the upper either before or in conjunction with the foldingegtperation. For practical purposes it has found that a cord introduced'into the crease of the u per prior to the folding of the margin own upon the body portion of the work and extending in the crease entirely around the folded portion of the upper serves to provide the necessary firmness and strength usually secured by a fabric extending over the entire inner face of the shoe upper.

'In a. broad aspect the invention consists,

therefore, in a method of reinforcing the edge of sheet material, and that method is shown by way of example as applied to shoe uppers-, a reinforcing element such as a cord, thread, wire or other filament applied along the folded margin thereof and'held in lace bysuitable cement. The upper may be ed or unlined, and, preferably, the margm of the'upper'is skrved prior to the foldmg operation in order to orm a neatand attractive fold, the folded portion being hammered down flat and secured by the cement; p In working u n shoe uppers and upon similar work, as gs, pocket books and the like, many corners havmg curves of a. short radius, both concave and convex, have'to be gone around. In order to secure a smoothly folded edge about such curves, especially the concave curves, it is necessary to slit the margin of the upperin conjunction with the application of the reinforeingelement, and accordingly an importantste of my improved method comprises the s of the mar 'n to. relieve the strain which would otherwise result and to form a smooth edge contour at the fold. This slitting operation may conveniently be performed in conjunction with the application of the reinforcing element, and, preferably, is done prior to the application along the fold of the said element.

Another feature of my improved method upon t e body of the wor consists in introducing into the foldformed by said mechanismthe reinforcing element, the operations of foldin the upper and introducing the cord taking place progressively and, referably, substanitally simultaneously. referably, too, and as a feature of the invention the method comprises the pressin of the folded mar 'n of the upper and upon the cord. The invention also contemplates the feeding of the cord with the work. Furthermore, as the cord is fed, the portions of the cord to be fed are drawn'into the fold and included therein as the folding operation progresses. It is important that the reinforcing element or cord be introduced directl into the fold at the point of formation 0 the fold so that work, the edges of which are very shar ly convex or concave, may be handled. This feature of the invention is articularly valuable when operating upon s cc uppers which necessarily have sharp curves which must be gone around in the operation of folding the upper and into the bight of which folds the reinforcing element should be introduced. When the point of introduction of the cord is close to the axis about which the work is turned in going around curves, whether convex or con.- cave or whether the curve is-one of lar e or small radius, the cord will be intro uced' into the vertex of the fold.

To secure the material in folded position the margin of the material is given a coating of cement which holds the contacting faces -firmly together after the formation of the fold and the pressing together of the folded portions. In accordance with an important feature of the invention the cord is so introduced into the fold that the cord en ages the cemented portion of the upper and according'ly when the fold is complete the cord is cemented to then per'and is permanently and securely held in position.

Furthermore, as pressure is applied to the fold in order to cause firm adherence of the cement, a greater pressure is exerted on those portions between which the cord is held by reason of the eater thickness of the material at this point, and, hence, the adherence of the cement along the cord and adjacent parts is particularly strong.

It is to be understood that the reinforcing member referred to above as acord or reinforcing element may be variously located and may be a thread, tape, band, string or other suitable element, whlch, for the purlposes of this application, may be termed a lament or-filamentous element. It is, however preferable in the case of shoe uppers to employ a filament of organic origln, as a cord or tape of cotton orlinen.

These and other features of the invention 'v. ill be described in connection with an illustrative apparatus, by which an exemplary pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

. Figure 1 is a perspective view of folding and cord introducing instrumentalities method may be carried out, and will bewhich may be used in the practice of my 4 method;

Fig. 2 is-a similar view to Fig. the apparatus in the act of per 0 tain steps of the method;

Fig. 3 is a detail of part of the apparatus to be described; V

Fig. 4 shows the step of cementing the margin of the material; and

Flg. 5 is a view of a shoe upper upon which the improved method has been practiwdx v rming cer- 1 showing Exemplaryinstrumentalities by which this invention may be practised are shown in Fig. 1. They comprise a work table 2 and an overhanging arm 4 upon'which certain of the operating instrumentalities are mounted, all of which will be presently described.

It will be understood that in carrying out myimproved method upon a shoe upper the margin of the upper is first skived and that cement is then-applied to the margin ofthe upper in any suitable manner; for example, by a brush 6 as shown in Fig. 4' of the drawings. To initiate the operation of folding the margin of the material the work is presented to the machine and the edge is pushed back into engagement wlth the up- I wardly curved surface of a plow 10 whereby the edge is turned upwardly until it encounters an overhangin arm 11 of the plow or until it engages t e pivot gage 12 which may be adjusted somewhat below the projection 11. The portion 11 of the plow 10 or the pivot gage 12 determines'the .distance the material can be inserted, and, hence, determines the width of the fold. The gage 12 may be adjusted by a screw 14 to vary to some degree the width of the fold. If a greater variation in the width of the fold.

than can be secured by an adjustment of the pivoted ga e" 12 is desired, the plow 10 may be removed and one of a different shape inserted in its lace.

During the ormation of the fold in the margin of the sheet the work is clamped bythe yielding presser 20 which is actuated upwardly at the proper time to press the work against the under face by a cooperating member, here: shown as a creaser 22. The presser 20 is actuated through resilient means to avoid excessive pressure on the work and, to permit its retraction manually for the introduction and removal of the work. The line of fold in the upper is determined by the lower edge of the creaser22 which cooperates with the-fold ing finger 24 which is actuated upwardly and at an inclination toward the front of the machine to fold 'the'margin of the upper inner face ofthe upper'material.

the left.

across the lower edge of the rear face of the creaser 22, and to give to that edge a total bend of more than 90 relatively to the plane of the body of the sheet. The upward movement of the folding finger 24 to form this fold or loop in the stock is performed while the stock is clamped be-- tween the face of the creaser 22 and the presser20. At this stage in the treatment of the material, and in accordance with the present invention, a reinforcing member is applied to the work and, preferably, may be inserted into the fold which is being made in the manner described. The reinforcing member which, for convenience may be referred to as a cord, isbrought from a spool or reel, not shown, through a hole 32 formed in 'the creaser member 22, the fold being inclined rearwardly and toward The fold is also inclined downwardly and emerges on the rear face of the creaser, preferably, however not necessarily,

ath point a short distance from the left hand end of the creaser, which is its advance end, with relation to the direction of feed. From the hole 32 to the advance end of the creaser a groove 34 is formed which serves as convenient means for guiding the reinforcing element and locating it in the bight of the fold formed by the folding mechanism. The groove 34; insures that the cord will be properly placed in the angle formed in the upper and serves particularly to position it' accurately in the bight of the fold. This groove, however, may be in either of the acting faces of the creaser. The groove 34 being shallow and located "as near as possible to the lower edge of the rear face of the creaser, the reinforcing member is introduced into the bight of the fold and directly against the Preferably, a suitable tensioning device 36 is provided which is mounted upon a bracket 38 secured to the head of the machine at 40. The cord is guided from thereel or spool through the tensioning device 36 to the opening 32 in the creaser 22, through which it is threaded.

'When a concave or inside curve of the material is being folded it is desirable at this stage in the folding operation to snip the marginal portion of the edge. For performing this step in the method, a snipping knife may be employed. The knife 50 is mounted on a lever 52 pivoted to. the

arm 4 at 54 and operated by a connection 56 andactuating meanslocated below the table 2. The knife 50 cooperates with the advance edge 58, Fig. 1, of the plow 10 to make a shearing cut through'the marginalportion of the. material which cut enables the fold to be properly formed around a concave curve' of the material being treated, as shown at a in Fig. 5. For

straight edges the use of the snipping knife is usually discontinued.

' After the cordhasbeen inserted, and,when necessary,the upper snipped,themargin of the sheet material must be folded down upon the body portion thereof and the j parts pressed firmly together to effect the setting of the cement, and then the work must be fed along to present a new portion of the material to the folding instrumentalities.-

For this purpose there are provided the anvil block and the' hammer 72. To prevent undue stretching of the edge of the work between the rearmost portion of the margin being treated which is bent up by the folding nger 24: and the advance portion which is folded over upon the body of the work, the work is held in an oblique position instead of being folded flalt in the plane of the body portion of the work. The work supporting surface of the anvil block 70 is beveled obliquely downwardly toward the yielding presser 20; that is, toward the point 'where the fold is completed, and also toward the rear of the machine; that is, toward the line of direction of the feed of the work. This oblique- 7 2, therefore, is actuated forwardly and downwardly to fold over a portion of the margin of the material and press it firmly the point of completion of the fold will be at the forward edge of the anvil block. This operation should be effected without bending the margin of the work to a sharp angle and, therefore, the advance edge of the creaser 22 is cut away at 74 to give space for the ppper material, and yet permit the hammer 72 to approach very closely the against the anvil in such a manner that advance edge of the creaser. The performance of the folding operations in a short space longitudinally of the direction of the vfeed is effected by the above described instrumentalities, and insures great facility in going around sharp curves which frequently occur in work upon shoe uppers.

After the fold has been firmly'pressed between the hammer and ,anvil the work must be advanced topresent a new portion of the work to the folding instrumentalities.

grip the work in the direction in which the work is to be fed. Since it is' practicable to This may be conveniently effected by moving the anvil and hammer, while they still employ a longer feed movement when folding a straight edge than when folding a curved edge, the length of the feed movement is preferably under the control of the operator, and may be varied during the folding operations to suit the portion of the work being treated.

In order to insure that the feed of the -work' shall take place when the stock is first presented to the folding instrumentalities without the operators taking care to ad- Vance the work far enough to be seized between theanvil and hammer, a foot 76 is provided. The foot 76 may be of resilient-material and may be secured to the hammer 72, and extend forwardly into a space formed by cutting away aportion of the creasing member 22 in which space the stock will be exposed when first inserted' The front end of the 'foot 76 is down-turned at 80, Fig. 1, to

under .the creaser.

form a toe which gets a firm grip on the material and insures a-positive feed of the work as the hammer moves to the left in the direction of feed. j

In the practice of my improved method the upper material is prepared'as indicated in Fig. 4 by applying a coating of cement to the marginal portion of the stock which is to be folded; The cement may extend over both faces of the material which are brought together in the folding operation or may be applied to either one of these faces only, and the stock may be either skived or unskived. Preferably, the portion of thematerial with which the cord is to come in contact is cemented so that the cord will be held to the material, and

when the cord'is' located in the'angle .of the fold, will be permanently located whether or'not the folded margin is further secured bystitches. The folding is then begun at a convenient point upon the margin, the creasing point or line being determined as by the edge of the creaser 22, and the 'reinforcing element is applied to the cemented margin or inserted in the crease as' by the groove 34, In treating curved edges, especially concave or inside curves, 1t 15 important at this point in. the 0 erationto slit the margin of the materia so that a smooth edge will be obtained,fwhich will haverno tendency to curve or ucker. The.

fold is then carried farther as y the action of the folding finger 24-to inclose the reinforcing element in the angle formed by the material, and the fold is thencompleted by pressing the marginal portion down upon the body portion, preferably while the portions so pressed together are maintained at an angle to the edge being folded, and

also, preferably, at an angle transverse to that direction, this operation being effected as shown by the hammer.72 and the anvil :70. This angular position of the work results in the release of the strain on the ma:

disposed of by pressing the folded portions while held in said inclined position.

It will be understood that when the above described instrumentalities are employed, the operations of folding the successive portions of the upper and inclosing the reinforcing element, will proceed automatically and that when one piece of Work is finished another may be inserted without cutting the cord, the cord being severed between the pieces when a run of work has been completed.

It is convenient also to perform the slitting operation upon the upper While it is turned up in its vertical position and before it is pressed down upon the inclosed cord, the upper being then in the plane above the plane in which the cord is introduced, whereby all danger of interference between the cord and slitting means is avoided.

Having thus described my'invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: v

1. Thatimprovement in the \method of finishing the edges of sheet material which consists in moving the material intermitten'tly,,forming step-by-step in the margin of the material during its periods of rest a fold, applying during each intermittent movement a portion of a reinforcing element in predetermined relation to said fold and intermittently securing to the body of the material said. folded over margin and said ortion;

2. That improvement in method of finishing an edge of sheetmaterial which consists in cementing the marginal ortion of the sheet, thereafter progressive y folding over the cemented margin of the sheet, progressivel a lying in predetermined relation to t e f dlhed portion a reinforcing element, and progressively securing the folded ortion and the reinforcing element to the ody portion of the sheet.

3. That improvement in method of finishing the skived edge of a sheet of material which consists in applying cement to theskived portion, form ng a crease or angle in the skived portion, laying {a reinforcing member in said crease,- folding the skived portion overagainst the body portion of] the sheet, and pressing the folded portion and the reinforcing element against the body portion of the sheet.

4. That improvement in method of finishing an edge of sheet material which consists. in applying; cementto the inner side of the" marginal portion of the material thereafter imtiating a fold 111 said cemen ortion, introducing a reinforcing element 1nto,the fold, and completing thefold to inclose the reinforcing element in the fold and to 'bring the cemented surfaces of the fold and the reinforcing element into holding relation to the sheet material.

5. That improvement in method of finishing the edges of sheet material which co n-.

sists in forming step by step a crease or angle inthe marginal portion of the material,

aying a reinforcing element progressively into, said crease or angle,'slitting the margin of the upper, folding the margin of the upper oversaid element and down upon the body portion of the material, and securing the fol'dedportion and the body portion together.

6. That improvement in method of finishin the edges of'sheet material of organic origin which consists in applying cement to theinnei' side of the marginal portion of the material, initiating a fold in said portion, slitting the margin of the initiated old, introducing a reinforcingelement into the fold, and completing the fold to inclose the reinforcing-element in the fold and bring the cemented. surfaces of the fold and the reinforcing elementinto holding relation to the sheet material; I

7. That improvement in method of finishing' the edges of sheet material which consists in treating successive portions of the margin thereof turning up a portion of said margin to orm a crease, laying into the crease a reinforcing element, slitting the edge of the upturnedportion, completing the folding of said portion by pressing it down upon the body portion of the mate, rial, feeding the material by progressive movement of theportion last treated, and repeating the operation progressively about atlsubstantial portion of the margin of the s eet.

8. That improvement in method of fini'shi ing the edge of sheet material whichconsists in a plying cement to themargin of the materiaLinitiating'a fold in a portion of sa-id margin', introducing a reinforcing filament into the initiated'fold, completin the fold to inclose the filament inthe fold, eeding the work while initiating the fold in a succeeding portion of the margin and maintaining the plane .of the completed fold at an; inclination toward the plane of the succeeding portion of stock in which the fold has been initiated to. relieve strain upon the ed e of the ortions of the margin held at 1 di erent inc inations, and repeating the operation progressivelym [on successive portions of the margin of t e material.

'sure to the marginal portion to 9. That improvement in method of finish;

ing the curved edges of sheet material which consists in treating successive portions of the margin by turning up said portions to a position at an angle to the'body of the material, inserting a reinforcin filament into the angle so formed, completing the folding of said'portion to inclose the reinforcing filament while maintaining the folded portion at an angle to the direction of the crease formed in a subsequent portion, feeding the work by movement of the fold-completing means while at the same time initiating a fold in a subsequent portion, and re eating the operation progressively arou d the curved margin" of the material.

, 10. That improvement in method of preparing shoe uppers which consists in treating successive portions of the margin of a shoe upper by turning up a portion of said margin to form a crease therein, laying into said crease a reinforcing element, completing the folding of said portion by hammering it down upon the body portion ofthe upper, and repeating the operation progressively abouta substantial portion of the margin of the upper.

11. That improvement in method'of finishing the edges of sheet material which consists in applying cement to the marginal port1on of the sheet, forming a crease or angle in the marginal portion, laying a reinforcing member along the margin of the sheet in predeterminedrelation to the crease, folding the marginal portion over against the body portion of the sheet, and pressing the reinforcing member against the body portion of the sheet with a'pressure in excess of that with which the marginal portion of the sheet is pressed against the body portion of the sheet.

12. That improvement in method of finishing the edges of sheet material which consists in app ying cement to the inner'side of the marginal portion of the material,

initiating a fold. in said portion, introducing afreinf'orcing element into the fold,

completing the fold and inclosing the reinforcing element in the fold, applying presce it against thebody portion of the sheet, and applying greater 'pressure to the reinforcelement to force it against the body portion of the sheet.

In testimonywhereofI have signed my I name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. I LLOYD Witnesses: I

H. J. SINCLAIR,

I Ewan N. Bram. 

